"Chris Blackwell, Clement «Coxsone» Dodd, Duke Reid, Prince Buster, Edward Seaga and Byron Lee are all legendary figures, and here they were beginning their careers as producers. Influ-enced by the sounds of New Orleans and Memphis, this Jamaican R&B, featured in 44 exceptional titles selected by Bruno Blum, represents a unique cocktail: blues, boogie-woogie, shuffle, swing jazz, jump blues, gospel, nyabinghi, doo-wop and rock & roll! Forgotten by history, this tropical rock-music preceding the arrival of ska contains the authentic roots of reggae. Many of these seminal bluebeat pieces have been almost impossible to find since the Sixties but, at last, here they are!” Patrick FRÉMEAUX